Is My Horse Lame? How to Spot Lameness, Find the Leg, and Know When to Call the Vet

What lameness is

Lameness is any change in a horse's normal way of moving, usually because something hurts. The horse shifts weight off the painful leg, and that shift shows up as a nod of the head, a hike of the hip or a shorter stride.

Lameness can be:

• Obvious: the horse barely puts weight on a leg.
• Subtle: it only shows on a circle, on hard ground, or under a rider.
• Sudden: after a kick, a stumble or overnight in the field.
• Gradual: a stiffness that gets slowly worse over weeks or months.

How vets grade lameness

Vets in North America usually use a 0 to 5 scale from the AAEP:

Grade 4 and 5 lameness needs a vet right away.

How to tell which leg is lame

Trotting is the easiest gait for spotting lameness, because the legs move in diagonal pairs and the rhythm is even. Have someone trot the horse in hand on a loose lead, on firm, level ground, straight away from you and straight back. Then watch from the side.

Front-leg lameness: watch the head

When a sore front leg hits the ground, the horse lifts its head to take weight off it. When the sound front leg hits the ground, the head drops. The memory aid is "down on sound." If the head nods down every time the right front lands, the left front is the sore leg.

Hind-leg lameness: watch the hips

Watch the horse trot away from you and focus on the top of the hips. The hip on the lame side travels farther up and down with each stride than the other one. Some people describe it as a "hip hike" on the sore side. Hind lameness can also make the head nod slightly, which can fool you into thinking it's a front leg.

Other clues

• Shorter stride on one side.
• Toe-dragging or scuffing, often a hind-leg sign.
• Resting one leg more than the others, especially a front leg.
• Pointing a front foot, standing with it forward to take weight off the heel.
• Lameness that gets worse on a circle. Many problems in the lower leg show more when the sore leg is on the inside of the circle and on hard ground.

Filming the horse on your phone and watching in slow motion helps. Several apps and sensors now measure movement too, though they don't replace a vet.

Check the foot first

Most lameness, especially in a front leg, starts in the foot. Before you call, look:

• Pick out the hoof and look for a stone, nail or other object. If something is stuck deep in the sole, don't pull it out if you can avoid it. Call the vet so they can see where it went in.
• Feel for heat on the hoof wall compared to the other feet.
• Feel the digital pulse at the back of the fetlock. A strong pulse in one foot often means an abscess. See horse vital signs.
• Check the shoe for looseness or a bent shoe pressing on the sole.
• Look at the coronary band for swelling or a draining spot.

Then run your hands down each leg, comparing it to the other side, feeling for heat, swelling or a reaction to pressure.

Common causes of lameness

Hoof abscesses are the most common cause of sudden, severe lameness. They often make a horse look as if it broke a leg. Once a vet or farrier opens and drains the abscess, most horses improve within a day or two.

Laminitis usually affects more than one foot, often both fronts, with a rocked-back stance. It's an emergency. See laminitis.

Tendon injuries show as heat and swelling along the back of the cannon bone. They need prompt treatment, stall rest and a long, structured rehab.

What to do before the vet comes

• Stop riding. Don't give pain medication and then ride to see whether it helps. That can turn a minor injury into a serious one.
• Keep the horse quiet in a stall or small pen.
• Cold therapy for a hot, swollen leg: cold hosing for 15 to 20 minutes several times a day, or ice boots, can reduce inflammation in the first couple of days.
• Wrap carefully if your vet advises it, with standing wraps over padding. See leg protection.
• Don't give painkillers without asking. They can hide signs your vet needs to see.

Call immediately if the horse won't bear weight, if there's a wound near a joint or tendon sheath, if a puncture is in the foot, or if the leg is swollen and the horse has a fever.

What happens at a lameness exam

A full lameness exam usually follows these steps:

1. History: when it started, what changed, the horse's work and shoeing.
2. Observation: at rest, walking and trotting in a straight line, on a circle, on soft and hard ground, and sometimes under saddle.
3. Palpation: feeling the legs, back and neck for heat, swelling and pain.
4. Hoof testers: pinching the foot to find sore spots.
5. Flexion tests: holding a joint bent for 30 to 60 seconds, then trotting off, to see whether the lameness gets worse.
6. Nerve blocks: numbing one area at a time with local anesthetic. When the lameness disappears, the vet knows the pain is below that block.
7. Imaging: X-rays for bone, ultrasound for tendons and ligaments, and sometimes MRI or other advanced tests.

Finding the exact source can take more than one visit. It's worth it, because the right treatment depends on the right diagnosis.

Preventing lameness

• Keep a regular farrier schedule. See hoof care and trimming.
• Warm up and cool down properly, and build fitness gradually.
• Ride on good footing, and limit hard-ground work.
• Use protective boots for jumping and fast work.
• Keep the horse at a healthy weight.
• Check legs daily, so you notice small changes early.

Sources

• AAEP: Be Prepared for an Equine Health Emergency
• University of Minnesota Extension: Basic First Aid for Your Horse
• University of Minnesota Extension: Caring for Your Horse's Hooves
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Horse Owners